There is a saying that is always floating around that says something to the effect of, “Most people hate what they do for a living, but they do it just the same because it pays the bills.” How sad but true this is! If you think back, I am only too sure that you don t have to think very long before you will remember an awful job experience that you have had. I still remember mine. It was the first job that I ever had...
I had landed my part time summer job during college working as a secretary at one of the high schools on Long Island. I went into the experience bright eyed and bushy tailed, anxious to please whoever it was that I was going to be working for. I had gotten this job by going through one of those temp agencies. They made me take a typing profiency test as well as a few other tests to make sure that I was qualified for the position that they had in mind, then when they realized that I was qualified, I received a phone call instructing me on where to report for my first day of work.
The woman that I was going to be working under (who shall remain forever nameless) looked like the kind of person who never smiled a day in her life. Still, as intimidating as she looked, I was still optimistic. The first day of work, I was received without any fanfare from my new boss. She didn t even shake my hand or greet me with any sort of enthusiasm! I could tell it was going to be a challenge. The assignment was to act mostly as a receptionist, screening phone calls and occasionally typing up some arbitrary memo to send out. The catch to the typing was that she wanted me to type on a typewriter. I hadn t used a typewriter since the fourth grade at that point (which was more than 10 years ago). They seemed really archaic, and besides who uses a typewriter anymore? Well, somehow I managed to fake the fact that I had no clue what I was doing when I had to fill out a form using a typewriter, but the shock came later when I had passed through a phone call from an unsuspecting solicitor. How was I supposed to know the person was a solicitor when he stated that he knew my boss from a previous engagement and had all of the facts to prove it? He didn t seem like he was selling anything.
After she received the phone call, she called me into her office and actually purported to call me stupid for passing the phone call through. I was so shocked and furious that someone would speak to me in such a degrading manner, that I didn t say anything. I simply gave her my meanest look and walked out of her office back to my desk. The next day, I received a phone call from the agency that my temp job was over and I didn t need to go back anymore. I was secretly relieved, but at the same time, I felt sorry for whoever might have to take my place!